Jack

Flaherty

Specifically, Rosenthal points to the Red Sox and Mets as teams who are both firmly in the bidding for Juan Soto but are also intent on rebuilding their starting rotations this offseason. The Blue Jays could be another team. He believes that any of them, should they miss out on Soto, would outbid the Orioles in an attempt to lure Burnes away. Rosenthal mentions that Nathan Eovaldi and Jack Flaherty could be fallback options for Baltimore if Burnes does indeed go to another team.

This might have been a much less dramatic game if Flaherty had done anything tonight. Instead, he was lit up for the second time in his last three starts. Unlike in that previous shelling by the Mets, Flaherty had his normal velocity tonight. He just gave up two homers, a double and a single anyway. He finished the postseason with a 7.36 ERA in five starts.

Olney notes that Flaherty experienced tightness in his hamstring just before he allowed a two-run home run to Giancarlo Stanton. It’s unclear how severe the injury is for Flaherty or if he’ll be able to make his next start, which could come as early as Game 4 of the series. The Dodgers can ill afford to lose Flaherty, their best starting pitcher.

In his last postseason start, Flaherty was shelled for eight runs over three innings. That didn’t carry over at all. The right-hander had some traffic over the first two innings, but he was outstanding from that point on until Giancarlo Stanton golfed out a homer to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead. Flaherty struck out six, walked one, and showed the secondary stuff that was necessary to get this New York lineup out. He’ll likely start Game 5 of the World Series, if a Game 5 is necessary.

Flaherty allowed eight runs in three innings in his last appearance in Game 5 of the NLCS against the Mets. He was solid in his other two playoff appearances, though. With the Dodgers starting pitching depth lessened due to all the injuries they’ve had, it’s clear Los Angeles views Flaherty as its best starter now. He’s now in line to pitch multiple times in the Fall Classic if the series requires it.

Flaherty gave up eight hits, four walks and struck out none. Flaherty allowed three runs in the first inning on a Pete Alonso three-run home run. In the third inning, he walked Alonso and Jesse Winker to start the inning. Starling Marte followed with a two-run double. With two outs, Francisco Alvarez drove in Marte with a single to make it 6-1 Mets. Then Francisco Lindor hit an RBI triple and Brandon Nimmo knocked him in with an RBI single. It was easily Flaherty’s worst start of the postseason and it seems like he won’t pitch again in this series.

Flaherty didn’t excel in his final three regular-season starts or in his loss to the Padres a week ago, but he cruised tonight, even if he did give up nine hard-hit balls. He retired the first nine and the final eight batters he faced. The Mets’ lone real threat should have materialized in the fifth, but after collecting the team’s first hit of the game, Jesse Winker made a huge baserunning blunder on a second consecutive hit off the bat of Jose Iglesias, getting himself thrown out at third with no outs and the Mets down 6-0. Flaherty never allowed another baserunner afterwards. Game 2 will come Tuesday. Sean Manaea is starting for the Mets, while the Dodgers will likely go with a bullpen game after Flaherty’s long outing tonight.

No surprise here. The Dodgers haven’t named a starter for the second game Monday, but it’ll likely be Walker Buehler with a chance to make it a bullpen game. Flaherty gave up four runs in his start Sunday against the Padres in a loss, but he’s been the most consistent of the Los Angeles options. He’ll likely also start Game 5, if necessary.

The first three runs came on a pair of homers in the first two innings. Flaherty did a nice job after that, but he was tagged with more run after being pulled in the sixth. His velocity, down in his final two starts of the regular season, was back up tonight, as he averaged 93.6 mph with his fastball. It’s reason to be encouraged if he gets another opportunity; he’ll be available to work in a Game 5, potentially in relief of Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

A Game 3 starter still hasn’t been revealed yet. The reasoning for the Dodgers going with Flaherty in Game 2 now is that he would be more accustomed to pitching with regular rest in a Game 5 if necessary.